About the Cambridge-Africa ALBORADA Research Fund

This fund was established in 2012 with a generous £1 million donation from The ALBORADA Trust, UK to the Cambridge-Africa programme. The Fund enables principal investigators at the University of Cambridge, across all disciplines, to apply (jointly with a partner at a sub-Saharan African university or research institution) for grants to initiate and/or strengthen research collaborations. Funds are awarded for research costs such as reagents, fieldwork and equipment. African fellows who are members of on-going initiatives of the Cambridge-Africa Programme (i.e. MUII, THRiVE, and CAPREx) and their Cambridge mentors/collaborators are also encouraged to apply for funds jointly, for activities that add value to their existing research projects.

As at 2015, the ALBORADA Fund has supported >78 research collaborations in 12 African countries, involving over 28 African institutions, in more than 38 areas of knowledge, and with more than 78 African researchers and 86 Cambridge researchers participating. The ALBORADA Trust therefore awarded a further £4 million to the Cambridge-Africa Programme for the period 2016 to 2026, to support further engagement between Cambridge and Africa (see https://www.cam.ac.uk/news/cambridge-engagement-with-africa-will-expand-following-major-gift). This great gift is therefore likely to double the number of awards that were being made to research partners each year, and will ensure that Cambridge's engagement with African institutions is sustained on a long-term basis.